Series tuned mass dampers in train-induced vibration control of railway bridges

This paper presents the series multiple tuned mass dampers (STMDs) to suppress the resonant vibrations of railway bridges under the passage of high-speed trains (HSTs). A STMD device consisting of two spring-mass-damper units connected each other in series is installed on the bridge. In solution, bridge is modeled as a simply-supported Euler-Bernoulli beam with constant cross-section, and vehicle is simulated as a series of moving forces with constant speed. By the assumed mode method, the governing equations of motion of the beam-TMD device coupled system traversed by a moving train are obtained. The optimum values for the parameters of the STMD device are obtained for the criterion based on the minimization of the maximum dynamic displacement of the beam at its midspan. Single TMD and multiple TMDs in parallel are also considered for demonstration of the STMD device's performance. The results show that STMDs are effective in bridge vibration suppression and robust to parameters' change in the main system and the absorber itself.